Rare blood clot from AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine poses high risk of death

Representational Image

New Delhi: A rare blood clot syndrome associated with the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca poses a high risk of death, a new study has found.

UK researchers have found that although the syndrome - vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT) - occurs in just one out of 50,000 cases, those who do get it have a very low chance of survival.

The study which was conducted on the basis of 220 confirmed and probable cases in UK hospitals between March 22 and June 6, showed that 23 per cent of the patients who developed the clot did not survive.

The risk of fatality increases dramatically to 73 per cent in patients with a very low platelet count. The syndrome has been found to be deadly even for the young and healthy.

“It’s important to stress that this kind of reaction to the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is very rare,” Dr Sue Pavord, consultant hematologist at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

Dr Pavord, who is also the lead author of the analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine, said that for those who do develop blood clots, the results “can be devastating”.

“It often affects young, otherwise healthy vaccine recipients and has high mortality. It is particularly dangerous when the patient has a low platelet count and bleeding in the brain,” she said.

In the 220 cases studied, ages ranged from 18 to 79 years and about 85 per cent of patients were under the age of 60.

However, Pavord added that “this does not mean the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine should not be given to the under-60s” as the benefits far outweigh the risk which is very rare.